title: Regional distribution of calcium elevation during sensory transduction in spider mechanoreceptor neurons.
abstract: Spider mechanosensory VS-3 neurons receive peripheral efferent synaptic modulation, with regional variations in the types of efferent synapses and transmitter receptors. VS-3 somata possess a voltage-activated calcium current, but the levels and time courses of calcium changes in other regions are unknown. The roles of calcium in these neurons are not completely understood, but could include modulation of both mechanosensitivity and response dynamics. Here, we measured calcium concentration rises caused by single, mechanically induced action potentials in VS-3 sensory dendrites, somata and axons, using Oregon Green BAPTA-1 fluorescence. Calcium concentration rose by approximately 1 nM following each action potential. Time courses of calcium rise and fall were similar in the three regions but the rise in amplitude was about 50% higher in the sensory dendrite than in the soma. Antibody to the Ca(V)3.1(alpha(1g)) isotype of T-type calcium channel labeled all three neuronal regions. Some Ca(V)3.1 labeling colocalized with synapsin labeling, suggesting that calcium channels play some part in efferent modulation. We conclude that mechanically stimulated action potentials start near sensory dendrite tips and pass rapidly through the neurons to the axons, activating low voltage activated calcium channels in all three regions and causing calcium concentration to rise rapidly in each region. These results suggest important roles for calcium in several stages of mechanosensation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 1X5.
authors.forename: Ulli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Höger
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meisner
authors.forename: Päivi H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Torkkeli
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: French
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D004533:Egtazic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013112:Spiders / Q000166:cytology*; D040521:Subcutaneous Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D016704:Synapsins / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type; D016704:Synapsins; D004533:Egtazic Acid; C025603:1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid; D002118:Calcium